Alamodome

Not to be confused with Alamo Stadium.
Alamodome
Location 100 Montana Street
San Antonio, Texas 78203
USA
Coordinates 29°25′1″N 98°28′44″W / 29.41694°N 98.47889°W / 29.41694; -98.47889Coordinates: 29°25′1″N 98°28′44″W / 29.41694°N 98.47889°W / 29.41694; -98.47889
Owner City of San Antonio
Operator San Antonio Convention and Sports Facilities Department
Capacity

American Football: 65,000[1] (expandable to 72,000)
Baseball: 52,295[2]
Canadian football: 59,000
Basketball: 20,662 (expandable to 39,500)
Ice hockey: 36,000
Boxing: 40,000
Arena Concert:

  • center-stage 33,000
  • end-stage 30,000

Stadium Concert:

  • center-stage 77,000
  • end-stage 50,000
Field size (Baseball):[3]
Left Field - 340 feet (104 m)
Left-Center - 370 feet (113 m)
Center Field - 395 feet (120 m)
Right-Center - 305 feet (93 m)
Right Field - 280 feet (85 m)
Surface SportField[4]
Construction
Broke ground November 5, 1990[5]
Opened May 15, 1993
Construction cost $186 million
($305 million in 2016 dollars[6])
Architect HOK Sport
Marmon Mok
W. E. Simpson Company, Inc.[7]
Structural engineer W.E. Simpson Company (Engineer of Record) [8] and Martin & Martin (Preliminary Roof Structural Design)[9]
Services engineer M–E Engineers, Inc.[10]
General contractor Huber, Hunt & Nichols[11]
Tenants
Alamo Bowl (NCAA) (1993–present)
UTSA Roadrunners (NCAA) (2011–present)
San Antonio Spurs (NBA) (1993–2002)
San Antonio Texans (CFL) (1995)
U.S. Army All-American Bowl (2002–present)
San Antonio Talons (AFL) (2012–2014)
The Alamodome from the top of the Tower of the Americas

The Alamodome is a domed 65,000-seat, multi-purpose facility used as a football, basketball, baseball stadium and convention center. It is located on the southeastern fringe of Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 million.

The multi-purpose facility was intended to increase the city's convention traffic and attract a professional football franchise. It also placated the San Antonio Spurs' demands for a larger arena. The Spurs played in the Alamodome for a decade, then became disenchanted with the facility and convinced Bexar County to construct a new arena for them, now called the AT&T Center.

Features

The facility is a rectilinear 5-level stadium which can seat up to 65,000 spectators for a typical football game and is expandable to hold 72,000 spectators, allowing the possibility of hosting a Super Bowl.

However, it was designed from the ground up to easily convert into a basketball or hockey arena. Converting the stadium for basketball and hockey takes 12–18 hours to set up retractable seating and installing the playing surface. In this configuration, typically only the two lower levels at one or both ends are used. The arena configuration seats 20,662 spectators, but is expandable to 39,500 when the upper level is opened.

The Alamodome opened with 38 luxury suites and 6,000 club level seats. The original design specifications called for 66 luxury suites. However, since the Spurs were the only full-time tenant at the time, only 38 luxury suites in the north end of the facility were built. The footprints for the 28 unbuilt luxury suites were open floor space just behind the club level seats that surround the south end of the facility. In 2006, the Alamodome underwent an expansion to accommodate 14 new luxury suites.[4] The Sports Club and the Top of the Dome restaurant also received renovations in 2004.

The Alamodome has two permanent Olympic-size ice rinks that can be used for NHL games, figure skating and speed skating. The facility also contains 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) of meeting rooms and 160,000 square feet (15,000 m2) of continuous exhibit space.

Two NHL Pre-season games were held at the Alamodome. The Dallas Stars faced off against the Los Angeles Kings in back-to-back seasons at the Alamodome in 1994 and 1995. The Stars defeated the Kings 3-2 on September 27, 1994 with 14,342 fans in attendance. The following year Dallas claimed a 4-2 victory over the Kings in front of 8,122 hockey fans on September 26, 1995. Hockey Hall of Fame forward Wayne Gretzky participated in both preseason matchups.

Events and tenants

The Alamodome is currently the host of the UIL State Marching Competition as well as the Bands of America San Antonio Super Regional each fall hosting between 60-80 high school bands over the course of a week. The Alamodome was also home to the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA from 1993 to 2002 and the San Antonio Texans of the CFL in 1995. In the NCAA, the Alamodome is currently the home of the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners.

The facility also hosts special events such as the annual Alamo Bowl football game, NCAA basketball and volleyball tournament games, and the men's and women's basketball Final Four (men's 1998, 2004, 2008; women's 2002, 2010). Other NCAA events including the 1997, 1999 and 2007 Big 12 Championship Games were played in the facility.

The 1993 U.S. Olympic Festival held some of the first paid events in the Alamodome in July and August 1993, including the opening and closing ceremonies and ice skating events. The 1996 NBA All-Star Game was played in the Alamodome,[12] and the facility hosted the WWF Royal Rumble in 1997.

Gregory Nava chose the Alamodome as a stand-in for the Astrodome for his 1997 biopic-film Selena.

The now-defunct San Antonio Dragons of the International Hockey League played some games in 1997 and 1998 at the Alamodome when its home, Freeman Coliseum, was unavailable during the annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo (a similar scheduling conflict the Spurs now face at the new AT&T Center). The Professional Bull Riders (PBR) has held two Built Ford Tough Series events in the Alamodome (2007, 2008). Two 2005 InterLiga soccer matches took place in the Alamodome on January 6, 2005.

The facility also was one of three "home" stadiums for the displaced NFL New Orleans Saints during the 2005 NFL season and was also the Dallas Cowboys' training camp site in 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team played a home game against Washington State here in 2009.

State high school football playoff games are regularly held in the Alamodome, including championship games in 2006, 2007 and 2009.

After the opening ceremonies, the first major event held at the facility was Paul McCartney's The New World Tour concert, which took place on May 29, 1993.[13]

The Alamodome has played host to music festivals, including Ozzfest.[14] It has also hosted concerts to artists such as Britney Spears, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and many more.

From July 5 to July 16, 2006, the Alamodome hosted the 2006 ELCA Youth Gathering. Approximately 40,000 youth and adult leaders attended the event, between the two weeks it was spread.

Every summer Drum Corps International hosts its DCI San Antonio – Southwestern Championships at the Alamodome.

The Alamodome also hosts the Bands of America Super-Regional Championships every year in November, as well as the University Interscholastic League State Marching Band Contest.

The Alamodome has also hosted 3 Men's NCAA Final Four Basketball games (1998, 2004, 2008) and one Women's Final Four in 2010, and will hold the men's Final Four again in 2018.

The Alamodome hosted the 2011 NCAA Women's Volleyball Final Four.

The 1993 world boxing championship fight between WBC Welterweight champion Pernell Whitaker and challenger Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. was held at the Alamodome. Also, the 2013 bout between Saul Alvarez and Austin Trout was held at the Alamodome.

On January 19, 1997, the Alamodome hosted the World Wrestling Federation's annual Royal Rumble Pay-per-view event. In front of a Royal Rumble record attendance of 60,525 San Antonio native Shawn Michaels won the WWF Championship from Sycho Sid, while another Texas native Stone Cold Steve Austin won the Rumble for the first time (he would also win in 1998 and 2001).

TNA Lockdown was held in the Alamodome on March 10, 2013. This was the first time TNA had hosted an event in San Antonio.

As of 2013, the Alamodome hosts UTSA's graduation ceremonies, as well as most of Northside ISD's high school graduation ceremonies.

The Alamodome hosted the 2015 General Conference Session of Seventh-day Adventists.

NBA basketball

The Alamodome's ability to easily accommodate basketball made it attractive to then-Spurs owner Red McCombs, who had been looking for some time for a larger arena to replace their longtime home, HemisFair Arena. The Spurs moved to the Alamodome after the 1992–93 NBA season. They played nine seasons in the Alamodome, including during their first NBA championship season, which was played against the New York Knicks in 1999.

During the regular season, most of the upper level was curtained off. However, on certain weekends and when popular opponents came to town, the Spurs expanded the Alamodome's capacity to 35,000 by opening three portions of the upper level. More sections of the upper level were opened for the playoffs, expanding capacity to 39,500. Attendance was 39,514 for Game 1 of the 1999 NBA Finals and 39,554 for Game 2.

Though the late 1990s saw the Spurs soar in popularity, the decision was made to move the team out of the spacious stadium and build a new arena. While the Alamodome had been designed from the ground up to accommodate basketball, it was primarily a football stadium. As the years passed, Spurs management and fans grew increasingly dissatisfied with its poor sight lines and cavernous feel. Part of the problem was the manner in which the Alamodome was configured for basketball. The basketball court was at one end of the venue with temporary stands on one side of the court, leaving over half of the stadium curtained off. Television broadcast trucks were usually set up on the unused half of the playing surface. By comparison, more modern domed stadiums that can accommodate basketball, such as AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, place the basketball court in the center of where the football field would be, allowing for much larger attendances. Additionally, the Spurs tied up the Alamodome for most of the winter and spring due to their deep playoff runs (they only missed the playoffs once in their nine years there). With the Alamodome booked solid well into April, it was difficult to accommodate conventions, concerts or even a prospective football team. Moving the Spurs out of the Alamodome opened up more contiguous dates allowing the facility to schedule more events, though it has yet to host a Super Bowl. The Spurs moved to the SBC Center (now the AT&T Center) after the 2001–2002 season.

Football

Alamo Bowl

The Alamodome is the site of the annual Alamo Bowl, which matches the second-choice teams from the Pac-12 Conference and the Big 12 Conference.[15] The 2006 Alamo Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and the Iowa Hawkeyes was attended by 65,875, which set a facility-record crowd for a sporting event,[16][17][18] only to have that record broken by an Alamo Bowl event the next year between Texas A&M and Penn State, which drew 66,166 attendees.[19]

Canadian Football League

The Alamodome was also home to the San Antonio Texans for the 1995 CFL season. The stadium was attractive to the Canadian Football League (which made an ill-fated attempt to expand to the U.S. between 1993 and 1995) since it was one of the rare American facilities that could fully accommodate the CFL's larger playing field. Its seating could be retracted to fit the full 65-yard width and 150-yard length of a regulation Canadian football field.

In the first CFL playoff game ever played between two U.S.-based franchises, the Texans defeated the Birmingham Barracudas 52–9 at the Alamodome on November 5. The team then lost to the Baltimore Stallions 21–11 in Baltimore on November 11. The Texans folded after the 1995 season due to low attendance, financial problems, and the disbanding of the other U.S. teams. As a result, the November 11 game is the last meaningful CFL game to have been played in the United States.

Corps Classic

September 16, 2006, marked the first game in a college football "home and home" series, known as the AT&T Corps Classic, between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Army Black Knights. Army has elected to play its "home" game at the Alamodome in order to increase the program's exposure around the nation, as it competes as an independent. A sell-out crowd of 64,583 watched the Aggies defeat the Black Knights 28–24.[4] The second game was played at Kyle Field in College Station in 2008.

East-West Shrine Game

The 2006 East-West Shrine Game was played in the Alamodome on January 21, 2006. The game is an annual post-season college football all-star game. For most of its history, the game has been played in the San Francisco Bay Area, at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium and at Stanford Stadium. In recent years it has been played at AT&T Park. In 2006, the game was played in the Alamodome, moving out of the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time in decades. The Shrine Game was moved once again for its 2007 event, to Robertson Stadium in Houston.

National Football League

The Alamodome has played host to six NFL preseason games. Two each were played in 1993 and 1994, one in 1995, and one in 2001.

In 2005, the NFL announced that the Alamodome would host three of the New Orleans Saints regular season "home" games due to the damage caused to the Louisiana Superdome by Hurricane Katrina. The Saints played the Buffalo Bills (week 4), the Atlanta Falcons (week 6), and the Detroit Lions (week 16) at the Alamodome. Although there have been many NFL preseason and exhibition games held in San Antonio over the years, these games were the first NFL regular season games played in the city. The Saints also played one 2005 season "home" game in Giants Stadium (against the New York Giants) in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and four others in LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Overall, the Saints averaged 62,665 fans in the 65,000-seat Alamodome for the three games held there, a solid showing despite the short notice to sell tickets due to the hurricane. The Saints and the NFL announced that the team would return to Louisiana for the 2006 season even though at the time the NFL was uncertain where they would play their home games.

Additionally, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue indicated that if the NFL expands again, San Antonio would be on the short list of candidate cities. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has acknowledged his support for the city's efforts to become home to an NFL franchise even though public opinion is that he would never let go of his team's presence in the San Antonio market.[23]

The Dallas Cowboys held their 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 preseason training camps at the Alamodome.

On July 29, 2014, it was reported by the San Antonio Express-News that Mark Davis met with officials from the city of San Antonio, Texas to discuss the possibility of relocating the Raiders to San Antonio.[24] Davis confirmed that he did speak with San Antonio city officials while visiting San Antonio to honor former Raiders wide receiver Cliff Branch's induction into a local Hall of Fame, but did not comment on whether he was considering relocation to San Antonio.[25] If the Raiders were to relocate to San Antonio, the Alamodome would almost certainly be used as a temporary home until a new NFL stadium is built.[24]

Texas Football Classic

Since 1999, the Alamodome has been home to the Texas Football Classic, which kicks off the high school football season in Texas. Now in its 13th year, the event has expanded to five games, featuring prominent high school programs from across the state.[26] Former participants include former Chicago Bears and University of Texas running back Cedric Benson, University of Iowa quarterback Drew Tate, University of Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb, and University of Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel.

U.S. Army All-American Bowl

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is played each January. The bowl game features the nation's top 80 high school football players in an East vs. West match-up and is televised by NBC. It also includes the US Army All American Marching Band, 125 of the nation's best musicians and guard members that audition 8 months before the bowl game. The first All American Bowl game that included the marching band performance at halftime was in 2008.[27] Past games have included players like Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Adrian Peterson, Brady Quinn,[28] and Tim Tebow. The inaugural game was played on December 30, 2000, at Highlander Stadium at Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas.[29] The bowl game was then moved to San Antonio, where the 2002 match was played in front of an Alamo Stadium crowd.[30] The 2003 game was moved to the Alamodome, where it has been played since.

NFLPA Game

In 2011, the Texas vs. the Nation game was moved to San Antonio and was renamed the NFLPA Game, after the new sponsor of the event. The concept of The NFLPA Game will remain "Texas vs. the Nation" with seniors having ties to the state of Texas taking on top seniors from across the Nation. In addition, The NFLPA Game will be nationally televised live on CBS College Sports starting in 2011.

UTSA Roadrunners

The UTSA Roadrunners football program began using the stadium in 2011. The Roadrunners set records for largest attendance at an initial game for a start-up NCAA college football program at 56,743, and largest average attendance for a start-up program's first season at 35,521. With a total capacity of 72,000 for football the Alamodome is currently the largest football stadium in Conference USA.

Arena football

From 2012 to 2014, the Alamodome was home to the San Antonio Talons of the Arena Football League, who relocated from Tulsa, Oklahoma in 2011.

NCAA Final Four

The NCAA Final Four was first hosted at the Alamodome in 1998, when Kentucky won the tournament. The NCAA has now said the 2018 Final Four will be held at the Alamodome.

Baseball

Since 2013, the Texas Rangers have played several exhibition games at the Alamodome to close out their spring training camp, the first time baseball has been played at the Alamodome. They played the San Diego Padres in 2013, the Houston Astros in 2014, and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. Another pair of games are scheduled for 2016 against the Kansas City Royals.

Renovations

On April 15, 2005, the San Antonio City Council voted to spend close to $6.5 million to renovate the Alamodome in an effort to lure a Major League Soccer franchise to the city. After the election of Phil Hardberger as the new mayor, those efforts were abandoned, though the approved renovations to the facility will continue as planned. The city administration and local business leaders have re-focused their efforts to bringing an NFL franchise to San Antonio.

On April 19, 2007, the San Antonio City Council unanimously approved an additional $8.3 million to fund renovations and enhancements to the facility.

In the summer of 2008 the audio system was upgraded.

In 2009 new LED video panels were added to the 5th level.

Although when the Alamodome was built it was an ideal state-of-the-art NFL stadium, by today's standards the facility would have to undergo renovations and add a considerable number of luxury suites in order to make it a profitable venue for an NFL team. Preliminary estimates put the cost of improvements at $100–150 million.

In September 2010, the Alamodome opened the new venue The Illusions Theater in the north half of the stadium. This setup uses curtains lit by LED fixtures to create a smaller feeling space for concerts, comedy acts, and other smaller acts. Floor seating can be configured to hold up to 1,000 seats with the plaza, club, and upper deck seating levels added as needed to give up to 15,000 seats.

Future events and tenants

Notre Dame will play Army at the Alamodome on November 12, 2016, a Saturday night.

The 2018 Men's NCAA Final Four will be hosted at the Alamodome.

Record crowds

Top 10 all-time Alamodome sports crowds (as of December 30, 2007):[16][19]

Rank Attendance Event Teams Date
1 66,166 2007 Alamo Bowl (Penn State vs. Texas A&M) Dec. 29, 2007
2 65,875 2006 Alamo Bowl (Texas vs. Iowa) Dec. 30, 2006
3 65,562 2005 NFL regular season game Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints Oct. 16, 2005
4 65,380 1999 Alamo Bowl (Penn State vs. Texas A&M) Dec. 28, 1999
5 65,265 2004 Alamo Bowl (Oklahoma State vs. Ohio State) Dec. 29, 2004
6 65,232 2001 Alamo Bowl (Iowa vs. Texas Tech) Dec. 29, 2001
7 65,035 1999 Big 12 Championship (Texas vs. Nebraska) Dec. 4, 1999
8 65,000 2015 International Friendlies (Soccer) (United States vs. Mexico) Apr. 15, 2015
9 64,824 1997 Big 12 Championship (Texas A&M vs. Nebraska) Dec. 6, 1997
10 64,597 1995 Alamo Bowl (Michigan vs. Texas A&M) Dec. 28, 1995

Other notable attendance marks include:

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alamodome.
  1. ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/north-america/united-states/texas/alamodome/
  2. ↑ AP
  3. ↑
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 2006 Alamo Bowl Media Guide, pp. 1–22, (PDF), The San Antonio Bowl Association.
  5. ↑ "Alamodome Chronology". San Antonio Express-News. May 14, 1993. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  6. ↑ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Alamodome (San Antonio, 1993)". Structurae. November 14, 2002. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  8. ↑ http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMKXWB_Alamodome_San_Antonio_TX
  9. ↑ Personal knowledge
  10. ↑ "Sports". M–E Engineers, Inc. Archived from the original on February 16, 2003. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ Alamodome. Basketball.ballparks.com. Retrieved on 2013-07-29.
  12. ↑ Michael Jordan wins the MVP, as the East prevails in San Antonio, NBA.com.
  13. ↑ An Applications Case History Alamodome Depends on Current Technology for "Command Performance" of Electrical Systems
  14. ↑ http://www.ozzfest.com
  15. ↑ http://www.valeroalamobowl.com/main/about_bowl_history.php
  16. 1 2 2006 Alamo Bowl attendance ranks as the #1 all-time sports attendance in Alamodome history, The San Antonio Bowl Association, December 30, 2006.
  17. ↑ "Texas Survives the Alamo". Austin American-Statesman. December 30, 2006. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2006.
  18. ↑ "Alamo Bowl Crowd Sets Alamodome Record". Austin-American Statesman. December 30, 2006. Retrieved December 30, 2006.
  19. 1 2 MySA.com: Big 12
  20. ↑ Saints clean up against Bills, 19-7, The Associated Press.
  21. ↑ Haslett steams after Falcons get two shots at FG, victory, The Associated Press.
  22. ↑ Harrington, Lions edge Saints for first win under Jauron, The Associated Press.
  23. ↑ "Football: Cowboys' Jones Backs S.A. Team". San Antonio Express-News. May 5, 2006.
  24. 1 2 Baugh, Josh (July 29, 2014). "S.A. May Be Home of Los Raiders". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Raiders owner confirms talks with San Antonio". Associated Press (AP). 2014-07-30. Retrieved 2014-07-30.
  26. ↑ Texas Football Classic announces 2006 lineup, Texas Football, March 3, 2006.
  27. ↑ http://www.usarmyallamericanbowl.com/marching-band-about/
  28. ↑ U.S. Army All-American Bowl Alumni, U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
  29. ↑ 2000 U.S. Army-All American Bowl, Scout.com.
  30. ↑ 2002 U.S. Army-All American Bowl, Scout.com.
  31. ↑ George Strait encore testament to the musician - The Music Beat. Blog.mysanantonio.com (2013-06-02). Retrieved on 2013-07-29.
  32. ↑ "Roadrunners roll in inaugural game, 31-3". GoUTSA.com.
  33. ↑ , Goal.
  34. ↑ Washington State Cougars vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Box Score - October 31, 2009 - ESPN. Espn.go.com (2009-10-31). Retrieved on 2013-07-29.
  35. ↑ 2004 National College Basketball Attendance (PDF), NCAA.
  36. ↑ Kansas Jayhawks vs. Memphis Tigers - NCAA Tournament Game - Box Score - April 07, 2008 - ESPN. (April 7, 2008). Retrieved on July 29, 2013.
  37. ↑ 1998 National College Basketball Attendance (PDF), NCAA.
  38. ↑ 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany Preliminaries – FIFA.com, FIFA.
  39. ↑ 1996 All-Star Game Boxscore, NBA Encyclopedia.
  40. ↑ http://www.filmscouts.com/scripts/interview.cfm?File=gre-nav
  41. ↑ 2001-02 NCAA Women's Basketball Attendance (PDF), NCAA.
  42. ↑ Texans game report. San Antonio Express-News, August 13, 1995.

External links

Events and tenants
Preceded by
HemisFair Arena		 Home of the
San Antonio Spurs
1993–2002 		Succeeded by
AT&T Center
Preceded by
Louisiana Superdome		 Home of the
New Orleans Saints
(with Giants Stadium & Tiger Stadium)
2005 (3 games) 		Succeeded by
Louisiana Superdome
Preceded by
America West Arena		 Host of the
NBA All-Star Game
1996 		Succeeded by
Gund Arena
Preceded by

Trans World Dome
Trans World Dome
Arrowhead Stadium		 Host of the
Big 12 Championship Game
1997
1999
2007 		Succeeded by

Trans World Dome
Arrowhead Stadium
Arrowhead Stadium
Preceded by


RCA Dome
Louisiana Superdome
Georgia Dome
University of Phoenix Stadium		 NCAA Men's Division I
Basketball Tournament
Finals Venue
1998
2004
2008
2018 		Succeeded by


Tropicana Field
Edward Jones Dome
Ford Field
U.S. Bank Stadium
Preceded by
BOK Center (Tulsa)		 Home of the
San Antonio Talons
2012 – present 		Succeeded by
current
Preceded by
Nashville Municipal Auditorium		 Host of Lockdown
2013 		Succeeded by
TBD
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